I'd be surprised if it sees much traffic. Other than Army and Navy I don't see any candidates for Ivy League expansion. They (the Ivies) don't care about the money, and they have no plans for post-season play.

It looks that way. There was chatter at one point about Northwestern, but the BTN put an end to that. CMU in Pittsburgh is another interesting option if they moved to D1. But the best fits might be Amherst and Williams if they upgraded.

D-3 upgrades to the Ivy or the Patriot are pretty unlikely IMHO. The only "expansion" to the Ancient Eight that I see as even remotely feasible would be if the Patriot opts to remain non-scholarship in football. Might Fordham, Colgate and maybe Holy Cross look elsewhere while Lehigh, Lafayette, Bucknell and Georgetown form a NESCAC arrangement with the IVY? Even then, would it only be for football?

The Ivy (and Patriot) are very unique leagues, more in common with each other, which don't have very many candidates for expansion available.

You're correct UNH. The Ivy had some talk a decade ago of Northwestern joining. But the $$$ growth of the Big Ten makes that a dead issue. There could be D3 schools that upgrade one day to the Patriot, and maybe decades from now they'd be attractive to the Ivy. But not now, nor in most lifetimes.

FSA, What was meant about schools in D3 like Amherst and Williams has been the standard process: upgrade to D1, eventually join the Ivy. It was not intended to convey an idea by which they would bypass the NCAA rules in any way. But if a conference expressed interest in a school, that conference would wait until a school was ready to go. Not any different than say, the A-Sun and some of the schools they now have. They had discussions before ever upgrading to D1.

I guess if for some reason the Ivy League had to go beyond eight (i.e., to qualify as a Division I Conference), it might be easier for them to merge with the Patriot League and play as the Ivy "Division".

Probably the only thing we'll see out of the Ivy League is sponsorship of hockey if it works out for the Big Ten-the Ivy has enough schools sponsoring both Men's and Women's hockey.

I guess if for some reason the Ivy League had to go beyond eight (i.e., to qualify as a Division I Conference), it might be easier for them to merge with the Patriot League and play as the Ivy "Division".

Probably the only thing we'll see out of the Ivy League is sponsorship of hockey if it works out for the Big Ten-the Ivy has enough schools sponsoring both Men's and Women's hockey.

Well, you're right that it would take something of a real longshot like an NCAA rule forcing a membership number.

But really, I think it would be just as easy for the Ivy League to pick and choose who they want. So maybe they do look at the Patriot, but they'd only need a couple schools, not all of them.

Just throwing this out there but...how competitive is the Ivy League in FCS football or DI basketball? It seems that the world of collegiate athletics is passing them by. Wouldn't it make sense for them to downgrade to DII in order to have some sort of chance at equal competition? They could still play some sports at the DI level like rowing or hockey but I assume if I was a Harvard basketball player I would like to have a chance at actually winning a national title....thought?

_________________Fan of the Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference and...

Just throwing this out there but...how competitive is the Ivy League in FCS football or DI basketball? It seems that the world of collegiate athletics is passing them by. Wouldn't it make sense for them to downgrade to DII in order to have some sort of chance at equal competition? They could still play some sports at the DI level like rowing or hockey but I assume if I was a Harvard basketball player I would like to have a chance at actually winning a national title....thought?

The Ivy league schools focus on the academic side of things. The do not offer sports or any type of scholarships i think same goes with the patriot league. The schools have supporters with deep pockets. A national title isn't really on the list usually. If it was They would have thier football teams go to the FCS playoffs.

I get all that but that why I said they could be more competitive and even win titles in basketball. When we talk about divisions we are typically talking about football and basketball for the most part but as you point out they don't participate in the FCS post season and only play 3 out of conference games (mostly against local or other non-scholarship team) so I'm not really talking about fb. Maybe I should have made it more clear but I think downgrading to DII would help their basketball and give them a chance to win some title which they DO compete in.

_________________Fan of the Big 12 Conference, the Mountain West Conference and...

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